Coil transfer and tipping apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for receiving an inclined coil at a first station and for laterally shifting the coil to a second station while simultaneously tilting the coil to increase its angle of inclination.

United States Patent Kinnicutt, Jr. et al.

[54] COIL TRANSFER AND TIPPING APPARATUS [72] Inventors: Roger Kinnicutt, Jr., Worcester; William J. Hill, Holden, both of Mass.

[73] Assignee: Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass.

[22] Filed: July 9, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 53,469

[52] U.S.Cl ..214/l46.5,2l4/l BB,2l4/l Q, 214/130 C [51] Int. Cl ..B65g 7/00 [58] FleldolSearch ..2l4/146.5, l R, l, 130, 130 A, 214/130 B, 130 C, 1 BC; 242/79 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,092,539 9/1937 Talbot ..2l4/l30C 1151 3,655,079 1451 Apr. 11, 1972 2,256,975 9/1941 Eddy et al. ..214/130 c x 2,361,222 10/1944 McBride ..214/1 Q x 2,567,819 9/1951 Matteson et al. ..2l4/l Q 3,150,759 9/1964 Boehm ..214/1 0 x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 788,308 6/1968 Canada ..214/1 0 Primary Examiner-Robert G. Sheridan Assistant ExaminerFrank E. Werner Attorney-Chittick, Pfund, Birch, Samuels & Gauthier [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for receiving an inclined coil at a first station and for laterally shifting the coil to a second station while simultaneously tilting the coil to increase its angle of inclination.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures INVENTORS AT T ORNE YS PATENTEBAPR 1 1 I972 sum 1 or 3 ROGER KINNICUTT,JR. WILLIAM J. HILL Jaw-6 16 PATENTEUAPR 1 1 I972 SHEET 3 [IF 3 FIG.4

mun-"PAL COIL TRANSFER AND TIPPIN G APPARATUS DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to material handling devices, and more particularly to an apparatus for receiving and laterally transferring cylindrical product coils, while simultaneously inclining or tipping the coils during lateral transfer to thereby locate the coils at a properly oriented position for engagement by other product handling devices.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of laterally transferring and simultaneously tipping a product coil, thereby materially shortening the operating cycle which might otherwise be needed to accomplish the same result if these operations were performed sequentially. Another object of the present invention is the provision of a relatively simple yet rugged and dependable apparatus, having a minimum number of moving parts that are mechanically interrelated in a manner which obviates the necessity for employing complicated controls. A further object of the present invention is the provision of means for tipping or inclining a coil at a rate which gradually decreases as the angle of inclination of the coil becomes more pronounced thereby precluding the possibility of jarring or otherwise dislodging coiled product from the top of the coil.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in end elevation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration depicting the harmonic motion imparted to the coil receptacle by the tilting arm; and,

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration depicting the movement of two devices according to the present invention in relation to a common intermediate hook carrier path.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown at 10 an apparatus according to the present invention. The apparatus is adapted to operate between a first coil receiving" station A, and a second laterally located transfer" station B. A pair of spaced parallel tracks 12a and 12b extend between stations A and B. A carrier assembly generally indicated at 14 is provided with wheels 16 which run along the tracks 12a and 12b.

A coil receptacle generally indicated at 18 is pivotally mounted on carriage assembly 14 by means of a pair of bearings 20. The bearings 20 are aligned to define a pivotal axis 21 for the receptacle 18 which is arranged above and parallel to the tracks 12a and 12b. The receptacle 18 has a generally scoop-shaped configuration made up of a curved wall member 22 and a bottom member 24 which is preferably slotted as at 26 to accommodate movement therethrough of other coil handling equipment, for example an apparatus for depositing a coil in the receptacle. An example of such an apparatus is described and claimed in a copending patent application by the same inventors filed on even date with the present application, and assigned Ser. No. 53,488.

The coil receptacle 18 is further provided with a depending strut 28 to which is attached one end of an arm member 30 by means of a coupling 32, the latter being of the type which permits both vertical and lateral pivotal movement. The other end of arm 30 is pivotally attached as at 34 to a fixed anchoring member 36 which is located laterally to one side of the tracks 12a and 12b.

Operating means are provided for traversing the carriage assembly 14 along tracks 12a and 12b between stations A and B. The operating means may preferably comprise a single double-acting hydraulic cylinder 38 anchored at one end as at 40, with its extensible piston rod 42 connected to the underside of the carriage assembly 14 as at 44.

Limit switches 46 may be employed in conjunction with conventional control means to automatically govern the operation of the cylinder 38. Alternatively, the cylinder may be manually controlled. The operating cycle of the apparatus is as follows: when in the coil receiving position at station A, the apparatus is positioned as depicted by the solid lines in the drawings. At this position, coil receptacle 18 is preferably supported on a vertically adjustable stop 48. With the receptacle 18 inclined at an angle as illustrated, a cylindrical product coil, for example one made up of rod rings, with a total weight of between 3,0005,000 pounds is loaded into the receptable. This may be accomplished by a number of means, but preferably the loading operation is carried out with an apparatus of the type disclosed and claimed in the abovereferred to copending application of the present inventors in order to avoid sliding or scraping the coiled product.

With a coil thus deposited in receptable 18, cylinder 38 is actuated to extend piston rod 42. This traverses carriage assembly 14 along tracks 12a and 12b to the position indicated in dotted at station B. Simultaneously, the resulting pivotal motion of arm 30 about another point 34 imparts a tipping action to the receptacle which gradually increases its angle of inclination until the condition shown in dotted in FIG. 2 at 18' is reached. At this point, the coil in the coil receptacle is inclined at an appropriate angle for engagement by another coil handling device, such as for example the hook 50 of a conventional hook carrier, the latter moving in the direction indicated along path P. The slot 26 in the bottom member 24 of receptacle 18 also permits the hook 50 to axially enter the inclined coil, with the result that the coil is picked up and carried further along path P.

FIG. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration showing the pivotal movement of arm 30 as it relates to the lateral movement of carriage assembly 44 between stations A and B. The path of lateral carriage movement is shown at M, the distance between path M and pivot point 34 as y, the length of arm 30 as l the lateral distance between the hook carrier path P and pivot point 34 as x, and the angle defined by path P and the arm 30 when the latter is at the coil recovery station as a. These linear and angular dimensions are preferably chosen such that the increase in distance D, between path M and pivot point 32 is initially rapid when the carriage 44 begins to move from station A towards station B. However, as the carriage approaches station B, D, gradually decreases until it becomes negligible. An important advantage is derived from this geometric relationship. More particularly, it will be understood that the risk of jarring or displacing rings from the top of a product coil increases as the angle of coil inclination increases. Thus it becomes desirable, when inclining a coil, to have a rate of inclination which is inversely proportional to the angle of inclination. Preferably, this should be accomplished without increasing the time required to shift a coil from station A to station B. The present invention achieves this result by making the rate of coil inclination directly proportional to D,,, the latter decreasing gradually and becoming negligible for any given speed of the carriage 14 as it approaches station B. Thus, with the present arrangement, the carriage 14 may be rapidly traversed from station A to station B in order to shorten the overall transfer cycle as much as possible. The coil is simultaneously inclined as the carriage is moved. The rate at which the coil is inclined will initially be rapid but will gradually taper off as the coil arrives at station B. This in effect avoids the possibility of product rings being jarred or otherwise dislodged from the top of the coil when the coil is inclined to the maximum angle at station B.

Other advantages are also offered by the present invention.

. The apparatus employs a minimum number of moving parts which operate in a mechanically interrelated fashion in response to a single operating means, namely cylinder 30. Thus the need for complicated and expensive control systems is completely obviated, while still insuring rapid dependable operation.

A further advantage of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein two coil transfer and tipping devices 10 and 10 are shown straddling the hook carrier path P. Both devices may be operated along the same common guide rails 12a and 12b to deliver coils from stations A and A to a common delivery station B located along the hook carrier path.

It is our intention to cover all changes and modifications of the embodiment herein chosen for purposes of disclosure which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. Coil handling means for receiving a coil at a first station and for transferring the coil laterally to a second station while simultaneously tipping the coil, said apparatus comprising: track means extending between said first and second stations; carriage means movably mounted on said track means; a coil receptacle mounted on said carriage means for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said track means; operating means for traversing said carriage means along said track means between said first and second stations; and, pivot means including an arm member pivotally connected at one end to said coil receptacle and at the other end to a member fixed laterally of said track means, said pivot means being responsive to movement of said carriage means for inclining said coil receptacle about said axis, thereby tipping a coil contained therein.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coil receptacle is comprised of a curved wall member and fiat bottom member defining a generally scoop-shaped body, the said axis being located adjacent to one edge of said bottom member, and there being further provided a depending strut on said body having a lowermost end connected to the said one end of said arm member at a level beneath that of said axis.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rate of inclination imparted to said receptacle by said pivot means decreases as said carriage means approaches said second statron.

4. Apparatus for receiving an inclined coil at a first station and for laterally transferring the coil to a second station while simultaneously increasing the angle of inclination of the coil, said apparatus comprising: a pair of spaced parallel tracks extending from said first station to said second station, a carriage overlying and movably mounted on said tracks, a coil receptacle mounted on said carriage for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said tracks, said coil receptacle having a strut depending therefrom beneath the level of said axis, means for traversing said carriage along said tracks between said first and second stations, and an arm member pivotally connected at one end to said strut and at the other end to an anchoring member fixed laterally to one side of said tracks, the length of said arm member and the position of said anchoring member being such that the receptacle is held in an inclined position at said first station, and the angle of inclination of the receptacle is gradually increased as the carriage is moved towards said second station. 

1. Coil handling means for receiving a coil at a first station and for transferring the coil laterally to a second station while simultaneously tipping the coil, said apparatus comprising: track means extending between said first and second stations; carriage means movably mounted on said track means; a coil receptacle mounted on said carriage means for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said track means; operating means for traversing said carriage means along said track means between said first and second stations; and, pivot means including an arm member pivotally connected at one end to said coil receptacle and at the other end to a member fixed laterally of said track means, said pivot means being responsive to movement of said carriage means for inclining said coil receptacle about said axis, thereby tipping a coil contained therein.
 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coil receptacle is comprised of a curved wall member and flat bottom member defining a generally scoop-shaped body, the said axis being located adjacent to one edge of said bottom member, and there being further provided a depending strut on said body having a lowermost end connected to the said one end of said arm member at a level beneath that of said axis.
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rate of inclination imparted to said receptacle by said pivot means decreases as said carriage means approaches said second station.
 4. Apparatus for receiving an inclined coil at a first station and for laterally transferring the coil to a second station while simultaneously increasing the angle of inclination of the coil, said apparatus comprising: a pair of spaced parallel tracks extending from said first station to said second station, a carriage overlying and movably mounted on said tracks, a coil receptacle mounted on said carriage for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to said tracks, said coil receptacle having a strut depending therefrom beneath the level of said axis, means for traversing said carriage along said tracks between said first and second stations, and an arm member pivotally connected at one end to said strut and at the other end to an anchoring member fixed laterally to one side of said tracks, the length of said arm member and the position of said anchoring member being such that the receptacle is held in an inclined position at said first station, and the angle of inclination of the receptacle is gradually increased as the carriage is moved towards said second station. 